George L. Roether (American, 1913-1998)
Sale 993 - American Furniture, Folk & Decorative Arts
Lots 1-335
Mar 10, 2022
5:00AM ET
Lots 336-681
Mar 11, 2022
5:00AM ET
Live / Cincinnati
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Estimate
$2,000 -
3,000
Lot Description
George L. Roether (American, 1913-1998)
W.C. Fields, Jack Oakie, Carole Lombard and Shirley Booth
circa 1935
painted papier-mache masks
made for Disney Studios
each labeled or inscribed, the first labeled W.C. Fields Made by George Roether Clevelan, Ohio, the next labeled Jack Oakie A Custom Made Mask by George Roether Cleveland, Ohio Hollywood, Calif., the next inscribed Carole Lombard No. 92-2-48-76 Made by Geo. Roether 1244 E. 125 Cleveland, O. and the last labeled No. 16-12-24-70 Made by George L. Roether Not to be duplicated.
Height of first 7 7/8 inches.
W.C. Fields and Jack Oakie both appear in Million Dollar Legs (1932) and If I Had a Million (1932). Oakie and Carole Lombard appear together in The Eagle and the Hawk (1933) and From Hell to Heaven (1933).
circa 1935
painted papier-mache masks
made for Disney Studios
each labeled or inscribed, the first labeled W.C. Fields Made by George Roether Clevelan, Ohio, the next labeled Jack Oakie A Custom Made Mask by George Roether Cleveland, Ohio Hollywood, Calif., the next inscribed Carole Lombard No. 92-2-48-76 Made by Geo. Roether 1244 E. 125 Cleveland, O. and the last labeled No. 16-12-24-70 Made by George L. Roether Not to be duplicated.
Height of first 7 7/8 inches.
W.C. Fields and Jack Oakie both appear in Million Dollar Legs (1932) and If I Had a Million (1932). Oakie and Carole Lombard appear together in The Eagle and the Hawk (1933) and From Hell to Heaven (1933).
George Roether was an animator for Disney and constructed this series of masks depicting movie stars and political figures between 1935 and 1941 in an attempt to have them mass produced. However, Disney declined the project. They subsequently went into storage until 1999 when a relative consigned them and they were offered at auction. They then descended to Ed Berlin of West Orange, NJ, and then to Betsy Dean of Colorado Springs, CO.
Condition Report
Auction Specialist